PART I: Shared Dreams
Chapter 1: The Battle
Princess Luna circled high above the trees. She desperately scanned the ground below looking for her enemy. The dark night, that of a waning crescent moon, thwarted her attempts to see any form lurking in the shadows of the trees. Worse still, a soft breeze blew, gently swaying the leaves and branches, obscuring any movement in the shadows.
For an hour, Princess Luna had fought her foe. She kept her distance, wielding her immense magic to fire powerful blasts of magical energy. Upon impact her salvos inflicted immense pain, leaving scorch marks and provoking howls of horrific pain, but they barely seemed to slow down her foe. When the combat became close, Luna had resorted to jabbing with her hooves, swinging and kicking with every ounce of strength until she hit her mark, cracking bone and leaving royal horseshoe imprints upon the flesh of her foe. Luna had fought valiantly, but she had not come away unscathed. She received crushing blows, leaving her bruised and battered, aching from seemingly every part of her body. Blood seeped from gashes and scratches, mixing with hair and forming thick masses in her coat.
THERE!!! THERE!!! Luna caught a glimpse of movement through the trees. She reached deep down, drawing forth her remaining strength to launch a blinding flash of energy toward the ground. The air crackled as it hurtled toward the shadows. The flash plunged to the ground, illuminating the leaves and branches and fruit of the trees. The blinding light killed any shadows as it streaked toward its target. The flash crashed through the trees, burning leaves and splintering branches before it impacted the ground, sending large chunks of earth flying in every direction.
Luna could see a smoldering crater, but smoke and dust shrouded the impact point. Did she find her mark? Did she miss? Did she mistake the moving shadows of the trees for her foe? The stakes were too high, Luna had to make sure. Luna began circling the destruction her magic had wrought. She slowly descended, anxiously looking into the crater while maintaining a strong awareness of her surroundings, wary of an ambush that was certain to come if her foe was not at the bottom of the crater. Gradually the smoke began to clear and Luna peered down. A motionless form began to emerge through the haze. Luna had indeed found her mark.
Luna breathed a sigh of relief. She had triumphed over her enemy. Her long battle was over. The euphoria of her victory was short lived, however. Weariness overtook Luna. Her muscles ached with every movement, every flap of the wing was more arduous than the last. Her legs remembered every hard kick, her hooves sore from the shock of impact of her horseshoes upon her foe. Her bruises became more unbearable with each passing moment. Blood still oozed from her raw cuts and gashes. Luna breathed heavily the cool night air, its sweetness easing her pain, but just a little.
Luna landed a few feet from the crater, intent on verifying that her foe truly was defeated. Her legs nearly buckled under her weight. She paused, taking a laborious breath and coughing as the dust choked her. She steadied herself and gathered her strength. She took a step, stumbling forward, struggling with all her might to maintain her balance. But this was a battle she could not win. She plowed face first into the dirt. Suddenly her vision blurred and Luna’s world went dark….
***
The stars dotted the night sky. Tiny scattered flecks of light twinkled in the vast empty sea of black. Black, the color of despair. Black, the color sorrow. Black, the color of mourning….
Only the moon moved across the sky. The thin crescent was in its final throes – soon it would fade into darkness. It would wane from existence, much like a distant memory disappearing forever into nothingness. Still, its feeble light shone down, barely breaking through the trees. The meager light did not illuminate anything, instead separating darkness from near darkness, figures and forms perceived but not seen.
Something began to stir. The sky in the east began to change, little by little the darkness fading. The sky brightened, but still night had not surrendered. Slowly the first rays of sunshine broke the horizon, piercing the night, driving it away. The sun slowly made its appearance, rising from the horizon. The end had come for night, the day was making its presence felt.
The rays of light broke through the trees. Their warmth fell upon the cold ground. The light illuminated a figure sprawled across the dirt. A motionless alicorn lay among devastation. With each passing moment the light grew stronger and the alicorn emerged from shadow, the gentle blending of colors and soft lines giving way to a stark, sharp image. Cuts and dried blood littered her coat, competing for space with bruises and the stains of black earth. Feathers torn and broken on her wings. Her mane a dull gray, motionless and plain. The birds began to chirp, welcoming the morning. Their happy calls drowning out the faintest, shallowest of breaths coming from a dying princess….